WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, THE MYTHOLOGY OF STORY BEHIND THESEUS AND HIPPOLYTA, CUPID, "PYRAMUS AND THISBE," AND "THE GOLDEN ASS"?
Answer Prepared By: Emily W. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is steeped in mythology, mainly Greek. Shakespeare borrowed a hero, a queen, one tragic love story and a certain winged God with a bow and arrow. Their stories have no connection, but Shakespeare plucked them all from the old myths and assimilated them into new roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Hippolyta was the fierce Queen of the Amazon warriors. According to D’aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths, “Amazons were a tribe of wild and warlike women who rode better and fought harder than any men” (D’aulaire 136). This Queen was made famous by Heracles, the son of Princess Alcmena and Zeus. The goddess Hera hated the young hero for obvious reasons (I mean, her husband was Zeus, and she was the goddess of marriage.) She made the great hero go crazy and kill his own children. For this crime, Heracles was sentenced to ten years of servitude to his weak cousin Eurystheus, during which time he had to perform ten tasks. Under Hera’s guidance, Eurystheus sent Heracles on tasks impossible for any human, but than again, Heracles wasn’t human. For his last four labors, Heracles was sent to fetch Mycenae, the golden girdle of Hippolyta. D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths says she was so infatuated with Heracles and his huge muscles that she handed over her belt without a fight. A displeased Hera spread a rumor that Heracles had come to kidnap Hippolyta. In rage, the Amazon women attempted to kill Heracles, but had met their match with the strong hero. As legend has it, Hippolyta was killed in the fight. Shakespeare chose her to be the fiancé of Theseus in his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Theseus’s name is most commonly linked to the Minotaur’s. According to D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths, Theseus was the son of King Aegeus of Athens. As the story goes, Athens was forced to give fourteen young Athenians to Crete in order to feed the hungry Minotaur kept there. Intent upon killing the beast, Theseus made himself one of the fourteen tributes that would sail to Crete to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. Ariadne, daughter of King Minos and Princess of Crete, admired Theseus’s beauty, and she couldn’t bear that thought that he would be sacrificed to the Minotaur. Now,D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths says that the Minotaur was imprisoned in an impossible labyrinth, built by the intelligent Daedalus, who had served the King many years. Ariadne went to the clever architect and begged for help to save the young man. He gave her a magic ball of thread that would lead Theseus through the maze to the man-eating Minotaur. Theseus succeeded in killing the horrible beast with his bare hands, and he, Ariadne and the other fourteen tributes escaped.
A bronze statue depicting Theseus killing the Minotaur.
But a hero’s story is never one without tragedy. Old King Aegeus had told his son to return with white sails if he was successful and black if he was not. In the young heir’s rush to escape Crete, he forgot to hoist the white sails. Theseus might have remembered if it hadn’t been for the dream Dionysus, God of Wine, sent him. The God wanted Ariadne for himself, and ordered Theseus to abandon the girl on an island. Reluctantly, Theseus did as Dionysus had ordered. Forgetting once again to hoist the white sails, the now heartbroken hero returned to Athens. And since Theseus hadn’t suffered enough, D’Aulaire says that Aegeus, upon seeing the black sails, threw himself into the sea. With no father and no bride, Theseus took the throne, and he and all of Athens despaired at the loss of their King. There is more to the hero’s story, more great deeds he did and adventures he took, but Theseus would always be known for slaying the Minotaur, only to lose his bride to a God, and his father to the sea. Shakespeare selected him to be Hippolyta’s new husband, rewriting the renowned hero’s story not as a tragedy, but as a comedy. Wanting to complete the “family tree”, Shakespeare selected Aegeus, or “Egeus” to be the father of Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. How myth can change over the years.
“Pyramus and Thisbe” was the only story Shakespeare relatively kept in tact from its original form. Taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and retold by author Francois Laroque in The Age of Shakespeare, this love story was classic for the time. In other words, it was (and still is) a tragedy. A boy. A girl. Forbidden love. Sound familiar? (Hint: think Romeo and Juliet). Pyramus and Thisbe conversed through a crack between their two houses and decided to sneak out to meet each other outside of Babylonia. Eager to see Pyramus, Thisbe arrived first, only to find a lioness, bloody from her last meal. Frightened, Thisbe dropped her veil and ran to hide. The lioness inspected it, smearing blood on it before wondering off. Pyramus came along, found the veil, and, being irrationally lovesick, he immediately thought Thisbe dead and stabbed himself. (Talk about jumping to conclusions.) Next, Thisbe came back and, according to Francois Laroque, discovered Pyramus dying. The poor, lovesick girl then took Pyramus’s sword and killed herself. And so ended the disastrous love story of “Pyramus and Thisbe,” tragedy was clearly in back then. But, being one of the most famed playwrights of all time, Shakespeare took the story and twisted it to make it absolutely hilarious. Shakespeare’s Mechanicals acting “Pyramus and Thisbe” fit perfectly into A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s comical disposition, with Bottom always the butt of the joke.
Thisbe, listening to Pyramus through the crack between their two houses.
Of course, the character Bottom had roots in mythology as well. He comes from a story appropriately titled The Golden Ass. Retold on the site Exploring Shakespeare on the webpage “The Ass’ Head,” the story is closely linked to Bottom’s role in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A young man, appropriately named Lucius, had curiosity and desire for love and magic. But, being malicious, he was punished and turned into a donkey. Although the page “The Ass’ Head” doesn’t state who (or what) punished Lucius, it does tell of whom his “savior” was. The Goddess Isis took pity on him and turned back into a man. Shakespeare supposedly took some of Lucius’s characteristics (as well as his transformation) and translated it into Bottom’s role. Lucius and Bottom were two Golden Asses.
Cupid, the Roman name for the Greek god Eros, was the mischievous son of the Goddess Aphrodite, otherwise known Venus. D’Aulaire retells Eros’s story in D’Aulaires’Book of Greek Myths. Playful with a streak of cruel humor, Eros flew around with a quiver full of arrows that caused people to fall in love with the first person they saw. He was said to dart and dash around the world, laughing mockingly at mortals who fell head over heels in love with anyone or thing. According to D’Aulaires’Book of Greek Myths, Hera once had Eros shoot one of his arrows to make Medea the sorceress fall in love with Jason of the Argonauts. Another time, Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman on earth for his bride, for he had awarded her with the Apple of Beauty. But Helen of Troy was already married, so Aphrodite had Eros intervene to make Helen fall in love with Paris. They escaped…and that little escapade ended in the Trojan War. D’Aulaire made it clear that Eros’s power was known to snowball out of control in some cases. This little cherub of love (or demon with wings, depends on who you ask), has only a small connection to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Cupid’s (Eros’s) link lies in the flower that causes the whole mixed-up love situation. He supposedly shot it with one of his magic arrows. Shakespeare creatively crafted Cupid into A Midsummer Night’s Dream, using the little god’s arrows of love to explain a bit of the myth and magic that this play is famed for.
An older depiction of Cupid (Eros), right after he's shot someone with his arrows of love.
A more modern depiction of Cupid (Eros) as a teenager.
The rich threads of mythology are tightly entwined into the vibrant fabric of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The playwright knew his mythology, incorporating a tragedy turned comedy, one ass to another, two unlikely lovers, and Cupid’s flower, planted into the soil of the fairies’ kingdom. With new life breathed into them, stolen characters bring Shakespeare’s famed comedy a few of the myths that were once so well known and loved. Through A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we can again enjoy what once was.
Works Cited D'Aulaire's, Edgar, and Ingri D'Aulaire's. Book of Greek Myths. New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1962. 136-137, 148-157. Print.
Lenardon, Robert, and Mark Morford. Classic Mythology. 4th. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman Publishing Group, Inc., 1991. 466-267, 496-497. Print.
Answer Prepared By: Emily W.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is steeped in mythology, mainly Greek. Shakespeare borrowed a hero, a queen, one tragic love story and a certain winged God with a bow and arrow. Their stories have no connection, but Shakespeare plucked them all from the old myths and assimilated them into new roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Hippolyta was the fierce Queen of the Amazon warriors. According to D’aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths, “Amazons were a tribe of wild and warlike women who rode better and fought harder than any men” (D’aulaire 136). This Queen was made famous by Heracles, the son of Princess Alcmena and Zeus. The goddess Hera hated the young hero for obvious reasons (I mean, her husband was Zeus, and she was the goddess of marriage.) She made the great hero go crazy and kill his own children. For this crime, Heracles was sentenced to ten years of servitude to his weak cousin Eurystheus, during which time he had to perform ten tasks. Under Hera’s guidance, Eurystheus sent Heracles on tasks impossible for any human, but than again, Heracles wasn’t human. For his last four labors, Heracles was sent to fetch Mycenae, the golden girdle of Hippolyta. D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths says she was so infatuated with Heracles and his huge muscles that she handed over her belt without a fight. A displeased Hera spread a rumor that Heracles had come to kidnap Hippolyta. In rage, the Amazon women attempted to kill Heracles, but had met their match with the strong hero. As legend has it, Hippolyta was killed in the fight. Shakespeare chose her to be the fiancé of Theseus in his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Theseus’s name is most commonly linked to the Minotaur’s. According to D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths, Theseus was the son of King Aegeus of Athens. As the story goes, Athens was forced to give fourteen young Athenians to Crete in order to feed the hungry Minotaur kept there. Intent upon killing the beast, Theseus made himself one of the fourteen tributes that would sail to Crete to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. Ariadne, daughter of King Minos and Princess of Crete, admired Theseus’s beauty, and she couldn’t bear that thought that he would be sacrificed to the Minotaur. Now,D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths says that the Minotaur was imprisoned in an impossible labyrinth, built by the intelligent Daedalus, who had served the King many years. Ariadne went to the clever architect and begged for help to save the young man. He gave her a magic ball of thread that would lead Theseus through the maze to the man-eating Minotaur. Theseus succeeded in killing the horrible beast with his bare hands, and he, Ariadne and the other fourteen tributes escaped.
But a hero’s story is never one without tragedy. Old King Aegeus had told his son to return with white sails if he was successful and black if he was not. In the young heir’s rush to escape Crete, he forgot to hoist the white sails. Theseus might have remembered if it hadn’t been for the dream Dionysus, God of Wine, sent him. The God wanted Ariadne for himself, and ordered Theseus to abandon the girl on an island. Reluctantly, Theseus did as Dionysus had ordered. Forgetting once again to hoist the white sails, the now heartbroken hero returned to Athens. And since Theseus hadn’t suffered enough, D’Aulaire says that Aegeus, upon seeing the black sails, threw himself into the sea. With no father and no bride, Theseus took the throne, and he and all of Athens despaired at the loss of their King. There is more to the hero’s story, more great deeds he did and adventures he took, but Theseus would always be known for slaying the Minotaur, only to lose his bride to a God, and his father to the sea. Shakespeare selected him to be Hippolyta’s new husband, rewriting the renowned hero’s story not as a tragedy, but as a comedy. Wanting to complete the “family tree”, Shakespeare selected Aegeus, or “Egeus” to be the father of Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. How myth can change over the years.
“Pyramus and Thisbe” was the only story Shakespeare relatively kept in tact from its original form. Taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and retold by author Francois Laroque in The Age of Shakespeare, this love story was classic for the time. In other words, it was (and still is) a tragedy. A boy. A girl. Forbidden love. Sound familiar? (Hint: think Romeo and Juliet). Pyramus and Thisbe conversed through a crack between their two houses and decided to sneak out to meet each other outside of Babylonia. Eager to see Pyramus, Thisbe arrived first, only to find a lioness, bloody from her last meal. Frightened, Thisbe dropped her veil and ran to hide. The lioness inspected it, smearing blood on it before wondering off. Pyramus came along, found the veil, and, being irrationally lovesick, he immediately thought Thisbe dead and stabbed himself. (Talk about jumping to conclusions.) Next, Thisbe came back and, according to Francois Laroque, discovered Pyramus dying. The poor, lovesick girl then took Pyramus’s sword and killed herself. And so ended the disastrous love story of “Pyramus and Thisbe,” tragedy was clearly in back then. But, being one of the most famed playwrights of all time, Shakespeare took the story and twisted it to make it absolutely hilarious. Shakespeare’s Mechanicals acting “Pyramus and Thisbe” fit perfectly into A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s comical disposition, with Bottom always the butt of the joke.
Of course, the character Bottom had roots in mythology as well. He comes from a story appropriately titled The Golden Ass. Retold on the site Exploring Shakespeare on the webpage “The Ass’ Head,” the story is closely linked to Bottom’s role in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A young man, appropriately named Lucius, had curiosity and desire for love and magic. But, being malicious, he was punished and turned into a donkey. Although the page “The Ass’ Head” doesn’t state who (or what) punished Lucius, it does tell of whom his “savior” was. The Goddess Isis took pity on him and turned back into a man. Shakespeare supposedly took some of Lucius’s characteristics (as well as his transformation) and translated it into Bottom’s role. Lucius and Bottom were two Golden Asses.
Cupid, the Roman name for the Greek god Eros, was the mischievous son of the Goddess Aphrodite, otherwise known Venus. D’Aulaire retells Eros’s story in D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. Playful with a streak of cruel humor, Eros flew around with a quiver full of arrows that caused people to fall in love with the first person they saw. He was said to dart and dash around the world, laughing mockingly at mortals who fell head over heels in love with anyone or thing. According to D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths, Hera once had Eros shoot one of his arrows to make Medea the sorceress fall in love with Jason of the Argonauts. Another time, Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman on earth for his bride, for he had awarded her with the Apple of Beauty. But Helen of Troy was already married, so Aphrodite had Eros intervene to make Helen fall in love with Paris. They escaped…and that little escapade ended in the Trojan War. D’Aulaire made it clear that Eros’s power was known to snowball out of control in some cases. This little cherub of love (or demon with wings, depends on who you ask), has only a small connection to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Cupid’s (Eros’s) link lies in the flower that causes the whole mixed-up love situation. He supposedly shot it with one of his magic arrows. Shakespeare creatively crafted Cupid into A Midsummer Night’s Dream, using the little god’s arrows of love to explain a bit of the myth and magic that this play is famed for.
The rich threads of mythology are tightly entwined into the vibrant fabric of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The playwright knew his mythology, incorporating a tragedy turned comedy, one ass to another, two unlikely lovers, and Cupid’s flower, planted into the soil of the fairies’ kingdom. With new life breathed into them, stolen characters bring Shakespeare’s famed comedy a few of the myths that were once so well known and loved. Through A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we can again enjoy what once was.
Works Cited
D'Aulaire's, Edgar, and Ingri D'Aulaire's. Book of Greek Myths. New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1962. 136-137, 148-157. Print.
Lenardon, Robert, and Mark Morford. Classic Mythology. 4th. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman Publishing Group, Inc., 1991. 466-267, 496-497. Print.
Pontikis, Nick. "Pyramus&Thisbe." MYTH MAN'S HOMEWORK HELP CENTER. N.p., 2003. Web. 3 Apr 2010. <http://thanasis.com/thisbe.htm>
"The ass's head." Exploring Shakespeare. RSC, 2006. Web. 4 Apr 2010. <http://www.rsc.org.uk/exploringshakespeare/dstagingchoice /makeupandtransformation_theasshead.htm>.